Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby fire Emma Hayes' Chelsea to Women's FA Cup final win over Arsenal at Wembley
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ByEurosport
Updated 05/12/2021 at 16:47 GMT
An amazing day for Chelsea who secure the FA Cup on the back of the brilliance of their star turns Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby. The scoreline was 3-0, but it could have been far greater as Chelsea completely dominated their London rivals Arsenal at Wembley on Sunday afternoon. It caps a brilliant season for Emma Hayes' side.
Sam Kerr celebrates her goal for Chelsea in the Women's FA Cup final, Wembley, December 5, 2021
Image credit: Eurosport
Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby combined brilliantly to help secure Women’s FA Cup final glory for Chelsea against Arsenal at Wembley.
The final was held over after last season’s competition was delayed by Covid-19, with December 5 chosen as the date as it was the 100-year anniversary of the FA banning women’s football - a decision that lasted 50 years.
Arsenal were hunting a record-extending 15th FA Cup win, but they were no match for Chelsea who, in securing the win at Wembley, completed the domestic Treble.
Chelsea made a blistering start to the match, with Kirby firing them in front inside three minutes.
It was a typical Kirby goal, as she showed tremendous awareness to seize on a loose ball, drive through the middle and clip the ball calmly into the corner.
Chelsea were the dominant force, and could have been out of sight by half-time. Manuela Zinsberger made a string of good saves, while Kerr hit the crossbar and Kirby a post.
Kirby and Kerr are one of the finest partnerships in football, and they combined for the second on 58 minutes. The former slid a pass into her team-mate, who cut inside and fired a shot in at the near post.
Arsenal had no answers and it came as no surprise when Chelsea added a third, with Kerr producing a cheeky lobbed finish to secure a third FA Cup for Chelsea.
Speaknig after the match, a delighted Chelsea boss Emma Hayes said: "I’m extremely proud of everyone in our organisation. Our performance was out of this world today. We were dominant from start to finish.
"I was upset we weren’t up by more than one at half-time but it was convincing in the end.
"That’s the best performance I’ve seen from Fran [Kirby], she ran the show. The midfield was set up to do a job and allow Fran and Sam [Kerr] to go and play.
"It’s nice to paint Wembley blue tonight. It’s a Chelsea day. The fans deserve that. Winning the Rreble is an amazing achievement and I will sit down and enjoy that this evening.
"Women’s football was banned 100 years ago. I said to the girls before the game: today we play for everyone who’s made the women’s game what it is. Women’s football is our livelihood but it’s also our passion and today that win was for every woman who’s been involved in women’s football in this country.”
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